The Tartans head home following other results from the final day of the group stage.
Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad loses at 2026 FIFA World Cup and heads home
Scotland were expelled from the World Cup and manager Steve Clarke also resigned.
Their fate was sealed on Saturday night, three days after Ghana lost to Croatia and Scotland lost 3-0 to Brazil, as they were confirmed as one of the top eight teams to miss out on the knockout stages.
Just 30 minutes after his ejection from the tournament was finalized, it was announced that Clarke had chosen to resign. A short statement posted on social media read: “Scotland men’s head coach Steve Clarke has stepped down from his role. The most successful national team head coach has ended his seven-year tenure following participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.”
Clark said: “The most emotional part of this farewell is for the players. Without them, none of the memories we have made from 2019 to now would be there. They deserve all the praise and praise they receive and it is a real honor to call them managers. Thank you for having me on board and I wish my successor the best of luck.”
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Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “Whilst we are all disappointed to have been eliminated from the World Cup in the group stages, we must not lose sight of the undeniable progress that has been made in Steve’s seven years as manager.
“From starting as a Pot Four team in 2019 to finishing top of our World Cup qualifying group, he has more than fulfilled his mission to bring Scotland back to major tournaments. We are grateful to Steve for his record-breaking contribution and when the disappointment of being eliminated from the World Cup subsides, Scottish supporters will be grateful for the memories of marching proudly in a major tournament once again.”
“Finally, on behalf of the Scottish FA Board, I would like to give a special mention to all of our amazing supporters. The thousands of people who traveled to the United States to celebrate our return to the World Cup gave so much to this cause and once again showed themselves to be exceptional ambassadors for our country and our signature game.”
Scotland finished third in Group C with three points and are still waiting for their first appearance in the final round of the World Cup. Scotland’s place has already been guaranteed for Wednesday’s game against Brazil, with Haiti eliminated due to head-to-head rules in the opener with a 1-0 result.
However, Coach Clark’s team suffered a big blow in goal difference against Brazil. Vinicius Junior scored the second goal in the first half, and Matheus Cunha added the third after the interval to seal a resounding victory for the Selecao.
Despite Opta’s predictive model showing a 24.9% chance of progressing to the next round, Clarke formally admitted that his hopes of progressing to the next stage were all but over at that point.
“Well, for me, I definitely think I’m going home,” Clark told reporters.
Scotland is returning home (Image: (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images))
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Much of their hopes rested on Czech Republic vs. Mexico and South Africa vs. South Korea. Mexico did what was required of them and won 3-0, while South Africa pulled off the upset, defeating their Asian opponent 1-0.
This was enough to seriously damage Scotland’s qualification hopes, as Bafana Bafana qualified in second place. South Korea will fall to third place in the group, and if their goal difference increases, Scotland will fall further down the table.
Scotland had plummeted to seventh place in the table heading into the June 25 match, with the top eight teams in third place qualifying for the knockout stage, with the top eight teams in third place qualifying for the finals.
Their fate depended on the result of Group E ahead of Thursday’s simultaneous kick-off at 9pm BST. Ecuador was in 3rd place with 1 point until playing Germany in the final match, while Curacao was in 4th place after playing against Ivory Coast.
Scotland knew that if Ecuador failed to defeat Germany and Curaçao failed to defeat Ivory Coast, the Tartans would surpass both countries in the rankings. But Ecuador’s shock victory made matters worse.
According to Opta, Scotland had less than a 0.1% chance of progressing on the final day of the group stage. All of the following needed to happen:
Ghana beats Croatia with 3 or more goals Uzbekistan beats or draws with Democratic Republic of Congo Austria beats Algeria with 2 or more goals
Even if Scotland were to pull off a miracle and qualify, the road to the second half of the tournament would have been difficult. Group C could see them face the winners of Groups A, E and I, in which case they would face either host Mexico, Germany or France.
Had they played Mexico, they might have faced England in the Round of 16, but that didn’t happen.
Given their disappointing performance in North America (their only goal came against Haiti), their loyal fans may have been spared further heartache. In any case, as Clark correctly predicted, the World Cup’s loudest fans are on their way home.
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